PRESSURE WAVE 2018

Rashid Al Khalifa's PRESSURE WAVE is a suspended sculpture made from painted metal and hanging by a wire. Imagine Al Khalifa working on this piece, carefully welding and painting each component. The delicate grid-like structures, rendered in blues and pinks, feel like they're trying to define a space but instead create a sense of transparency and openness. What was the artist thinking as he constructed these geometric forms? Perhaps he was exploring the illusion of depth, creating a piece that plays with our perception and understanding of space. The careful placement of the colored squares in the grid reminds me of Agnes Martin, who uses grids to create subtle visual rhythms. But while Martin is minimalist, Al Khalifa uses the grid to imply volume and movement. The sculpture becomes a meditation on how we experience physical space. I wonder if Al Khalifa’s work will inspire other artists to push the boundaries of form and perception. We are all in conversation with each other, aren’t we?